Rochester native one of 12 victims killed in Navy Yard shooting

Patricia Arnold, 80, of Rochester answered her door Tuesday, on the verge of tears.Her son, Michael Arnold, 59, who lived in the vicinity of Washington D.C. for more than 30 years, was one of the 12 people who died in a shooting Monday morning at the Washington Navy Yard.“He was just a good man,” Arnold said. “One you’d be proud to call a brother.”Speaking in the living room of the home she said Michael Arnold’s “grew up in since he was 5,” Patricia Arnold thumbed through photobooks and scrapbooks, still in disbelief at the news of her son’s death.“There’s no sense to be made of it,” she said. “He just killed my boy.”Patricia Arnold said her son returned home to visit earlier this month. The family spent a week up north in a cabin they’ve owned for over four decades and frequently visited Lincoln, a small town near Alpena.Michael Arnold attended Rochester High School before heading off to the University of Oklahoma where he met his wife, Jolanda, and later joined the Navy’s ROTC program, his mother said.
An avid pilot, Arnold was building a light airplane at his home, his uncle Steve Hunter told The Associated Press.“It would have been the first plane he ever owned,” Hunter said. “It’s partially assembled in his basement.”Hunter said his nephew retired from the Navy as a commander or lieutenant commander and had previously been stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. He worked at the Navy Yard on a team that designed vessels such as the USS Makin Island, a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship used by the Marine Corps.Hunter told The Oakland Press Michael Arnold was speaking on the phone with his wife moments before the shooting. When the fire alarms went off, Hunter said Arnold then told his wife, “I have to go,” and then went to leave.Witnesses told The Associated press that the gunman opened fire from a fourth-floor overlook, aiming down on people below, including, Hunter assumes, his nephew.Hunter grew up with Michael Arnold, graduating from Rochester High three years ahead of him. Numerous relatives lived nearby in the neighborhood just north of downtown Rochester, he said.He said Michael Arnold’s Labor Day visit was his third trip back to Michigan this year. He drove up for Memorial Day and in June for his mother’s birthday.“He visited as often as they could get away.”Hunter said his nephew was “just a wonderful person...loving father of his kids, loving son of his mother.”Rochester Mayor Stuart Bikson said hearing a former resident died in the shooting “makes it just that much sadder.”“It really brings that kind of tragedy home to everyone,” Bikson said. “It’s just senseless crime.”Patrica Arnold said her son had been married to his wife for 35 years.“There’s just no reason for it,” Patricia Arnold said. “He was just such a good father...he loved his kids.”Michael Arnold is survived by his wife, and two sons, Christopher, 31, and Eric, 27.No funeral arrangements have been made, his mother said. The family plans to drive down to Lorton, Va. tomorrow to be with family.The Associated Press contributed to this report

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Ryan Felton is a staff writer at The Oakland Press who covers Rochester, Rochester Hills, Oakland Township, transportation and technology. Blogging about Detroit at detroit.jalopnik.com. Reach the author at ryan.felton@oakpress.com
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